The fiction of memory

[Wuzzums]

"Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus studies memories. More precisely, she studies false memories, when people either remember things that didn't happen or remember them differently from the way they really were. It's more common than you might think, and Loftus shares some startling stories and statistics, and raises some important ethical questions we should all remember to consider."

 

 

I think this stresses the importance of objective evidence over hearsay and even witnesses. The case of Michael Brown comes to mind where I heard witnesses changed their initial statements or told contradicting stories. They might not have done it with malicious intent or because they were under coercion, they might have just been telling the truth how they remembered it.

 

Regarding the childhood abuse instances of implanted false memories. If our brain cannot differentiate between an implanted memory and a true memory, then it shouldn't matter for the victim whether it actually happened or not because for them the scars are real. However the perpetrator should still suffer consequences. Given that the damages are the same, should a person that implants a false memory suffer the same repercussions as an actual molester?

 

What do you think?

[J. D. Stembal]

When it comes to parental authority over children, it makes no difference. What is the likelihood that the child will remember abuse when it's the parents that are teaching him to normalize it? Cnce the child becomes an adult and starts to objectively assess old memories, he will be able to identify the abuse for what it really is. The negative emotional reactions parents have to implanted false memories is a desperate continuation of the normalization of the abuse.

 

I remember vividly my mom having to go to the emergency room when my dad socked her in the face. I didn't see it happen but I heard a scuffle and a yell, then my mom crying and bleeding from her nose. I was six years old. My dad looked me right in the eyes and lied to me, telling me that my mom fell and hit her head in the bathroom. I knew he was lying to me, and I suppressed the memory for decades.

 

This year, I asked him about it, and he admitted that he hit her. My mom, on the other hand, refuses to acknowledge that it ever happened. She whitewashed the memory from her brain, but it's still there festering. You cannot invent false memories or completely eradicate real ones. People have a tendency to suppress or alter memories to help them cope with feelings of guilt, remorse or regret. What gain does an adult child have to invent or allow other people to implant false memories? A child, as a healthy adult, should feel no guilt when it comes to how he was treated as a child. The child, unlike the mother or father, cannot voluntarily leave the abusive environment.

[Pepin]

It is something to be aware of. I am often unsure if something actually happened, or if it was a dream. I often get memories mixed up. I do think I can identify true memories very well for reasons that would take a while to explain and likely bore people. To put it this way, I have a very good memory, and any friend attest to this.